Elaine Schmidt ([email protected]),(310) 794-2272 For Immediate Use June 19, 2001
UCLA Inventor of PET Earns Two Influential Awards:Kettering Prize for Cancer Research and Energy@23 Award
UCLA pharmacology chair and Norton Simon Professor Michael E. Phelps, creator of the positron emission tomography (PET) scanner -- the first technology enabling scientists and physicians to image the errors in human cells that create disease -- has earned two of the medical field's most prestigious peer awards.
The General Motors Cancer Research Foundation awarded the Charles F. Kettering Prize to Phelps and colleague Dr. David E. Kuhl of the University of Michigan. Often called the "Nobel Prize for Cancer Research," the $250,000 award has preceded the Nobel Prize for seven of its awardees. A panel of international scientists, physicians and Nobel Prize winners praised the creation of PET for profoundly improving how doctors diagnose, stage and treat cancer.
The Department of Energy (DOE) also recognized Phelps with an Energy@23 award for PET's role in enabling physicians to better detect breast cancer, identify metastasis and choose the best course of treatment. The department presented the award to three of 26 laboratories that produced the top 100 scientific and technological innovations of the past 23 years.
Phelps, who also heads the molecular medicine division of the UCLA-DOE Laboratory of Structural Biology and Molecular Medicine, was selected for the one-time award by a panel of scientists, engineers, academic experts, labor and non-profit leaders.
What makes PET unique?
Created by Phelps in 1974, PET enables scientists to transcend the limits of earlier technology in order to see and study the biology and genetic origin of disease at a cellular level in the living body. Originally geared toward research, PET was adopted by physicians in the early '90s to improve healthcare.
"X-rays, MRI and CT scans display how disease damages organ structure," Phelps explained. "In contrast, PET reveals how disease damages organ function. This enables physicians to examine and direct therapy at the biological process of disease."
Phelps and colleagues developed the first of many models of PET scanners in 1976. He became interested in the clinical applications of PET for cancer after a close friend contracted breast cancer in the early '90s.
"My friend's physician told her, 'Everything about cancer treatment and prognosis is determined by whether it has metastasized to other organs,'" Phelps recalled. "This prompted me to develop a safe, non-invasive way to image the entire body to identify the primary cancer, see if the cancer had spread and, if so, to where."
Phelps' team designed PET's cancer-imaging application around the concept that tumor cells consume vast amounts of glucose (sugar) to fuel their rapid growth. Today, clinicians use PET to visually monitor cells' glucose metabolism in order to scrutinize suspicious masses for early cancer detection; stage whether a tumor is contained to one organ or has metastasized; and choose the most effective therapy to combat the disease. They also use PET to assess a treatment's effectiveness and modify therapy accordingly.
Phelps' creative problem-solving led to the development of today's whole-body PET scans, which scan every inch of the body at one time for the presence and spread of cancer. Other clinical PET applications include diagnosing Alzheimer's, epilepsy and cardiovascular disease.
Increasing Patients' Access to PET
Phelps established the first clinical PET services at UCLA Medical Center in 1990 and headed the international transition of PET from research to clinical application.
He recently led a national campaign of physicians, scientists and patient advocacy groups to gain FDA approval of PET for all cancers, cardiovascular disease and epilepsy. The team also collected and analyzed evidence that prompted the Health Care Financing Administration to authorize Medicare reimbursement of PET for these diseases.
Today, nearly 500 private insurance companies provide coverage for PET scans for certain diseases. American hospitals and clinics own nearly 400 PET scanners, and the number of new system installations doubles each year.
More on Phelps
Phelps heads numerous areas of responsibility at the UCLA School of Medicine. His titles include Norton Simon Professor and chair of the UCLA Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, chief of the Division of Nuclear Medicine, director of the Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, associate director of the Laboratory of Structural Biology and Molecular Medicine, and professor of biomathematics.
Phelps is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the recipient of numerous awards, including the Enrico Fermi Award, the government's oldest science and technology prize, presented to Phelps by President Clinton. He earned his doctorate in chemistry at Washington University, St. Louis.
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